August 3 marked the 60th anniversary of the first steam hauled passenger service on the reopened Ffestiniog Railway in 1955. Then, Prince hauled carriage 23 and van 12 just a mile across the Cob embankment from Porthmadog Harbour Station.
This was the first stage of a rebuilding project that was finally completed in 1982 when trains ran back into Blaenau Ffestiniog. 2015 is also the 150th anniversary of the start of passenger services on the Ffestiniog, back in 1865.
Prince, the 152 year old loco, re-enacted its historic run, this time with the help of Single Fairlie Taliesin, with a 10 carriage train. The pair double headed the 10.10 and 13.35 services on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Picture caption:
Prince’s driver Roger van Praet and fireman Matthew Ellis await departure with the 1010 from Porthmadog 60 years to the day from when the loco headed the first steam hauled passenger train of the preservation era.
Pic: Andrew Thomas
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